Winston Smith, a civil servant assigned the task of falsifying records and political literature, effectively perpetuating propaganda, who grows disillusioned with his meager existence and so begins an ultimately futile rebellion against the system.

Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell's vivid account of his experiences fighting in the Spanish Civil War, is a portrait of disillusionment which offers background to the anti-Stalinist subtexts to Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell was shot in the neck, and forced into hiding as factions of the left fought on the streets of Barcelona.

Presents an unabridged, enlightening and often shocking expose of life on the streets of two of Europe's most romanticised and celebrated cities. The author describes in detail the day-to-day life of a 'down-and-out', which involves hunger, filth, derision and often prejudice and violence.